Composition of wurtzilite, rubber, &amp;c.



' UNITED STATES Patented Jul 21, 1903.

PATENT OFFICE.

SAMUEL RUOKER WHITALL, OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY, ASSIGNOR, BY DIRECTAND MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, OF ELEVEN-TWENTIETHS TO FRANK MAOOMB WHITALL ANDJOSEPH R. EDSON, OF WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

COMPOSITION OF WURTZILITE, RUBBER, 84,0.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 734,483, dated July 2]1903.

Original application filed May 5. 1902 Serial No. 105,908.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, SAMUEL RUCKER WHIT- ALL, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Fort Myer, in the county of Alexandria and 5" Stateof Virginia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inComposition of Wurtzilite, Rubber, &c.; and I do hereby declare thefollowing to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention,such as will IO enable others skilled in the art to which it appertainsto make and use the same.

This invention pertains to an improved product or compound, moreespecially for plastic articles. 7

This is a division or continuation of an application filed by me onorabout the 5th dayof May, 1902, Serial No. 105,908. In the formerapplication I claim, broadly, the process of dissolving wurtzilite (insome sections of the country known as elaterite) and the product of suchprocess as well'as said product in connection with certain otherelements presently disclosed. 'The present application is filed to covermore particularly the product of said former application in combinationwith rubber, 850., to provide material from which to formvariousarticles of manufacture or commerce of a plastic character, as beforenoted. Wurtzilite, sometimes known as elaterite,

0 'the principal ingredient or element referred to in my said formerapplication, being readily soluble in petroleum, I combine the same inits dissolved state with india-rubber as applied in the arts.

In order to enable others to practice mypresent. invention, I will nowdescribe the same more fully.

I have discovered that wurtzilite is soluble in petroleum, either crudepetroleum or its 40 distillates, and that when a plastic mass orsolution reverts by evaporation to a consistent solid mass said massrecovers substantially its original properties, with this eXcep-, tion,however, that the mass is now soluble in any of the ordinary solvents ofrubber and also of course in petroleum or its distillates.

The solution of wu rtzilite is effected by merely Divided and thisapplication filed May 26, 1902. Serial (Specimens) bringing the materialinto intimate contact with petroleum or its distillates. I The mass ispreferably reduced to a fine condition or pulverized, and the solventaction of petroleum, &c.', may be aided by moderate heat.

My invention therefore consists in the mode of making articles forcommerce con taining wurtzilite, as hereinafter more fully described,and particularly pointed out in the claims.

Wurt'zilite is a mineral without any determinate form and would beclassed as amorphous. Itisneverfound crystallized. Byre- 6o flectedlightit is of a dark nearly-black brownish color, fracture conchoidal,streak brown; by transmitted lightthrough athin pieceofa darkorange-red, nearly brown. Then at the ordinary temperature, itis strong,tough, and requires a sharp heavy blow to break it. When warmed, it istough and somewhat elastic, not ox'idizable, not affected by thestrongest acids or any combination of acids either cold or hot exceptbya slight diseol- 7c oration, not soluble in alkalies or any of theordinary solvents of india-rubber except coaltar naphtha, which does notentirely dissolve it unless used in very large proportion to thequantity of wurtzilite soluble in petroleum. By distillation it givesoff gas and four or five oils, a heavy white oil, a brown oil, a richyellow golden colored oil, leaving a thick pasty residue, and has aboutten per cent.

of fixed carbon, showing perhaps a trace of sulfur.

Having dissolved the mineral without destroying any of its valuablecommercial prop" erties for use in the arts, either with or without theaid of heat, my prepared or allotropic wurtzilite, which is a mineralhaving the essential properties of wurtzilite which has been reduced bypetroleum or its distillates to a condition for use in making theso-called fplastic articles or being itself soluble, in 0 the solventsof india-rubber, can be sold to manufacturers for use in making eitherof the articles of commerce hereinafter indicated.

I will now describe my preferred method of preparing wurtzilitefor usefor commercial purposes. The mineral is mixed with a solvent,hereinbefore described, and ground, under atmospheric pressure, in asuitable apparatussay a paint-mill, of any preferred construction, setto grind to a fineness of a sixty-mesh screen, more or less, as may bedesired. To accomplish this, the mineral is first crushed or broken upinto small pieces to enable it to be readily ground to the desiredfineness. I then take the pulp or powder and place it in suitablevessels-say kettles of pressed steel, or pots of cast-iron, or anysuitable vessel of proper size to suit the manufacturer-and place thevessels on a furnace or stove, so constructed that when the vessels orkettles are placed therein none of the flame will press up around thesides of the furnace or through the openings thereof in which thekettles are to be placed. Any crevices in the furnace should be wellluted or closed to prevent any flame or spark from coming into contactwith the contents of the kettles. When it is desired to dissolve thismineral in large quantities, a suitable furnace of brick of any lengthdesired may be employed, the top of which should preferably be ofcast-iron, with openings therein to fit the vessels to be used thereon.The furnace may be provided with a fire-box, doors, fines, and dampersto regulate the heat and draft. Tight-fitting covers should be providedto place over the openings when one or more of the vessels are removedfrom the furnace. The finely-ground material or pulp is placed in avessel with petroleum-oil, either crude or refined oil, but preferablyany petroleum that does not contain the mineral wax known as paraihn.After the materials have become thoroughly mixed the vessel is coveredand placed on the furnace and heated to a moderate temperature,occasionally stirring the contents of the vessel to dissolve thewurtzilite, which should be thoroughly dissolved in from one to twohours, according to the fineness of the pulp. The quantity of oil to beincorporated with the pulp should be the smallest quantity that isnecessary to dissolve the pulp. When after examination no undissolvedparticles are found, the pulp is readily poured out upon slabs of stone,a clean wooden table, or into suitable molds to cool or harden.

The foregoing constitutes the quickest and my preferred method ofdissolving wurtzilite, comprising the use of heat with the solventpetroleum, as hereinbefore described; but I have often obtainedsatisfactory results as follows: Break the wurt-zilite into pieces smallenough to'be readily ground in a grinding-mill or to a finenesssufficient to hold the oil and prevent its separating and running out ofthe mill. Then grind the mineral with the oil, after which it will befound that most A resse of the mineral has been dissolved. Any residueof the mineral can be dissolved in the manner previously described, orit can be strained off and then be used over in the mill with a freshsupply of oil and pulp.

Prepared wurtzilite may be alloyed with rubber or rubber solution in thesolvents mentioned, and they will form a consistent homogeneous mass.This homogeneous mass, composed of prepared wurtzilite and rubber in acommon solvent, is similar to an alloy. It has the properties of boththe prepared wurtzilite and the rubber, theprepared wurtzilite becomingmore elastic and the rubber more tough when in the alloy. Thishomogeneous mass can be used for similar purposes and uses as rubber. Inthis alloy of prepared wurtzilite and rubber the adulterants of rubbermay be used in place of the rubber. Instead of applying heat to theWurtzilite or prepared wurtzilite after it has been mixed with the oilthe oil may be heated before it has been mixed with the wurtzilite, (be.

It will be understood that I herein make no claim for the process oftreating wurtzilite to render it suitable for the production of paints,varnishes, &c., as such process is the subject-matter of an applicationfiled by me May 5, 1902, Serial No. 105,908.

Having thus described my invention, What I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is

1. A mass consisting wurtzilite and rubber.

2. A mass consisting of an admixture of wurtzilite and of rubber or theadulterants of rubber.

3. A mass consisting of wurtzilite and rubber in the intimate state oftheir admixture arising from a previous solution in a common solvent.

4. A mass consisting of an intimate union of wurtzilite and rubberwherein the physical properties of each are physicallyindistinguishable.

5. A mass consisting of wurtzilite and rubber,wherein each dissolves oralloys the other.

6. A mass consisting of an allotropic wurtzilite and rubber in theintimate state of their admixture arising from a previous solution in acommon solvent.

7. A mass consisting in an intimate union of allotropic wurtzilite andrubber wherein the physical properties of each are physicallyindistinguishable.

8. A mass consisting of allotropic wurtzilite and rubber wherein eachdissolves or alloys the other.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

SAMUEL RUGKER VVHITALL.

Witnesses:

EDWIN B. H. Towns, Jr., W. CLARENCE DUVALL.

of an admixture of

